tirion

watch-tower, tower

tirion noun "watch-tower, tower" (TIR); in early "Qenya" the gloss was "a mighty tower, a city on a hill" (LT1:258). Tirion "Great Watchtower", a city of the Elves in the Blessed Realm (SA:tir; in MR:176 the translation is "Watchful City")

tirion

noun. watch-tower, watch-tower, tower, [ᴱQ.] (great or mighty) tower; city on a hill

Element in

• Q. Tirion “Great Watch-tower” ✧ RGEO/65

Variations

• Tirion ✧ RGEO/65

tirion

place name. Great Watch-tower

City of the Elves in Valinor, built on the hill Túna (S/59). This name is the noun tirion “watch-tower” used as a name, probably inspired by the great tower Mindon Eldaliéva built by Ingwë within that city.

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, the name of this city of the Elves in Valinor was ᴱQ. Kôr, which was also the name of the hill where it was built (LT1/122-3). At this early stage, the name ᴱQ. Kortirion was used for the chief city of Tol Eressëa, home of the exiles of Kôr and named after the great tower built by Ingil son of Inwe (LT1/16). In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, ᴹQ. Kôr became the name of the hill only, and the name of the city became ᴹQ. Túna “Hill City” (LR/222). In the same period, the name ᴹQ. Kortirion largely vanished from the narratives, mentioned only as the place where Ælfwine recorded the tales (LR/334).

In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, the city in Valinor was called ᴹQ. Tirion in Bilbo’s poem in Rivendell (TI/92); this name was also used in Tolkien’s notes on the fall of Númenor from the 1940s (SD/403). The name Tirion was retained in the published Lord of the Rings (LotR/235), and Tolkien used this name for the Valinorian city in Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s (MR/84). Túna gradually became the name of the hill only (MR/8), while the name Kôr vanished entirely. It is possible that Q. Tirion was a restoration of the early name ᴱQ. Kortirion, now as the city in Valinor rather than Tol Eressëa. The chief city of Tol Eressëa was called Avallónë in later writings (S/260).

The table below summarizes these changes:

|Period|City (Tol Eressea)|City (Valinor)|Hill (Valinor)|Tower|Tower Builder| |Early (ᴱQ)|Kortirion|Kôr|Kôr|Tirin (in Tol Eressea)|Ingil| |Middle (ᴹQ)|Kortirion|Túna|Kôr|Ingwemindon (in Valinor)|Ingwe| |Late (Q)|Avallónë|Tirion|Túna|Mindon Eldaliéva|Ingwë|

Elements

Word	Gloss
tirion	“watch-tower, watch-tower, tower, [ᴱQ.] (great or mighty) tower; city on a hill”

Variations

• Tiron ✧ LBI/Tiron (Tiron)

tiris

watch, vigil

tiris (tiriss-), also tirissë, noun "watch, vigil" (LT1:258, QL:93)

tir-

watch, watch over, guard, heed

tir- vb. "watch, watch over, guard, heed", 1st pers. aorist tirin "I watch", pa.t. tirnë (TIR), imperative tira (VT47:31) or á tirë (PE17:94), future tense tiruva "shall heed" in Markirya (also MC:213, 214); also in CO with pronominal endings: tiruvantes "they will guard it" (tir-uva-nte-s "guard-will-they-it"). The stem also occurs in palantíri (q.v.), Tirion place-name "Great Watchtower", a city of the Elves (SA:tir; in MR:176 the translation is "Watchful City")

tarminas

tower

tarminas noun "tower" etc. (Sindarin barad); see taras (PE17:22)

turco

tower

turco ("k") (2) noun "tower". In Lúnaturco, Quenya name of Barad-dûr (Dark Tower). Tolkien changed the word turco from turma (PE17:22).

marto

tower

marto (1) noun "tower" (PE17:66)

marto

noun. tower

Cognates

• S. barad “tower, great towering building, tower, great towering building, [N.] fort, fortress” ✧ NM/228; PE17/066

Derivations

• √M(B)ARAT “doom, fate” ✧ NM/228
  • √MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live”
• √BARAT “lofty, high, height combined with strength/size/majesty” ✧ PE17/066
  • √BAR “[ᴹ√] raise; uplift, save, rescue(?)”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√BAR-AT > marto	[mbarto] > [marto]	✧ PE17/066

turma

tower

[turma] (2) noun "tower". Tolkien changed this word to turco (#2), q.v. (PE17:22)

cenda-

watch

cenda- vb. "watch" (not "guard", but observe to gain information), also used = "read". Cenda = also noun "reading", as in sanwecenda "thought-inspection, thought-reading". (VT41:5, PE17:156)

Elendë

elvenhome

Elendë (1) place-name "Elvenhome", regions of Valinor where the Elves dwelt and the stars could be seen (MR:176, ÉLED). Plural ablative elendellor in the phrase et elendellor, evidently *"out of the elf-lands" (VT45:13).

Eldamar

elvenhome

Eldamar place-name "Elvenhome" (ÉLED; found already in Narqelion), according to MR:176 another name of Tirion (see tir-).

tirith

noun. watch, guard (abstract noun), vigilance

tirith

watch

{1st ĭ}_n._watch, ward, guard. >> tíria, Minas Tirith

barad

tower

1b n. tower.

barad

tower

1c n. tower. Q. marto.

minas

noun. tower

minas

noun. fort, city with a citadel and central watch-tower

barad

noun. tower, fortress

tirion

great watchtower

tirion (i dirion, o thirion), pl. tiryn (i thiryn).

tirion

great watchtower

(i** dirion, o thirion), pl. tiryn (i** thiryn).

sirion

great river

(i** hirion, o sirion), pl. siryn (i** siryn).

tiria

watch

1) tiria- (guard, gaze, look toward) (i diria, i thiriar). 2)

tiria

watch

(guard, gaze, look toward) (i diria, i thiriar).

tirith

watch, watching

(i dirith, o thirith) (guard, guarding, vigilance), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thirith)

tir-

watch

(cited in the form tiri, a ”Noldorin” infinitive in -i) (i dîr, i thirir) (guard, gaze, look at, look towards). The imperative tiro and passive participle [t]irnen are attested, the latter in lenited form dirnen.

aearon

great ocean

also Gaearon (i** ’Aearon), pl. Gaearyn (i** Ngaearyn = *i Ñaearyn). Also short form Gaeron (i** ‘Aeron), pl. Gaeryn (i** Ngaeryn = i Ñaeryn*). Coll. pl. Gaearonnath, Gaeronnath.

ardhon

great province

(great region, world), pl. erdhyn, coll. pl. ardhonnath.

gond

great stone

(i ’ond, construct gon) (rock), pl. gynd (i ngynd = i ñynd), coll. pl. gonnath (Letters:410).

taur

great wood

(i daur, o thaur) (forest), pl. toer (i thoer), coll. pl. torath. Note: homophones mean ”king (of a people)” and also ”lofty, high, sublime, noble” etc.

barad

tower

1) barad (fortress, fort) (i varad), pl. beraid (i meraid). Note: barad is also an adjective "doomed", but this is derived from a stem in mb- and would have different mutations. 2) (tower or city with citadel/central watchtower) minas (i vinas), pl. minais (i minais), coll. pl. minassath

barad

tower

(fortress, fort) (i varad), pl. beraid (i meraid). Note: barad is also an adjective "doomed", but this is derived from a stem in mb- and would have different mutations.

minas

tower

(i vinas), pl. minais (i minais), coll. pl. minassath

roval

great wing

(pinion, wing), pl. rovail (idh rovail); this is a suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” *rhoval* pl. *rhovel*.

goe

great fear

goe (i **oe) (terror), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ngoe** = i ñoe);

lae

great number

(no distinct pl. form) (VT45:27), also rim (crowd, host), no distinct pl. form except with article (idh** rim), coll. pl. rimmath**. Note: a homophone means ”cold pool or lake”.

thamas

great hall

pl. themais, coll. pl. thamassath.

daedhelos

great fear/dread

(i** naedhelos, o ndaedhelos), pl. daedhelys (i** ndaedhelys). Coll. pl. daedhelossath. A side-form ends in -oth instead of -os. The word appears in the mutated form "ndaedelos" in LotR Appendix F, but since the second element must be delos "abhorrence" and it would surely be lenited following a vowel, this would seem to be one of the cases where Tolkien wrote d even though dh would be technically correct.

daedhelos

great fear

daedhelos (i naedhelos, o ndaedhelos), pl. daedhelys (i ndaedhelys). Coll. pl. daedhelossath. A side-form ends in -oth instead of -os. The word appears in the mutated form "ndae<u>d</u>elos" in LotR Appendix F, but since the second element must be delos "abhorrence" and it would surely be lenited following a vowel, this would seem to be one of the cases where Tolkien wrote d even though dh would be technically correct. Another term for GREAT FEAR is goe (i **oe) (terror), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ngoe** = i ñoe).

tirion

noun. tower

Cognates

• ᴹQ. tirion “watch-tower, tower”

Element in

• N. Luindirien “Blue Towers” ✧ Ety/LUG²

tiria-

verb. to watch, to gaze, look at

tirith

noun. watch, guard (abstract noun), vigilance

tir-

verb. to watch, to gaze, look at

minnas

noun. tower

minnas

noun. tower

Cognates

• ᴹQ. mindon “(isolated) tower” ✧ Ety/MINI

Derivations

• ᴹ√MIN “stand alone, stick out” ✧ Ety/MINI

Element in

• N. Minas Anor “Tower of the Sun”
• N. Minas Ithil “Tower of the Moon”
• N. Minas Morgol “Tower of Sorcery”
• N. Minnastirith “Watchtower”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√MINI > minnas	[mindasse] > [mindass] > [minnass] > [minnas]	✧ Ety/MINI

minnas

noun. fort, city with a citadel and central watch-tower

barad

noun. tower, fortress